Gasshô

The first and largest organic supermarket in Setúbal wants to grow and innovate (again)!

Eight years ago, when little was said and done with regard to bringing organic and sustainable products at a fair price to Portuguese tables, Paula and Emanuel, moved by their passion for Macrobiotics and healthy food, opened a small organic supermarket in front of Jardim do Bonfim, in Setúbal.

Since then, Gasshô has grown and more than tripled in size, consolidating its position as the leading supplier of organic food in the city and surrounding areas. The goal now is to continue growing and to focus on scale, strengthening the community, and sharing knowledge to support innovation and entrepreneurship.

The funds raised through this campaign will be used to:

• Increase scale and offer better prices to customers through a wide range of own-label products.
• Create more opportunities for innovation and entrepreneurship for small local producers through a mini incubator for sustainable businesses.
• Diversify supply and eliminate food waste by opening an organic cafeteria and a takeaway service so that organic food reaches more families.

Ghassô considers that at a time when we all feel the impact of global problems like the pandemic and war, it is important to support the growth, autonomy, and resilience of local economies for the sake of food sovereignty. 

The store currently has a lot of unused space, practically 400mts2 are spare. In addition to the business plan that foresees an optimization of what already exists, Gasshô will expand its business to other areas as a way of cross-selling. This will include increasing the product offer and optimizing current waste (namely food waste of fresh produce).

The store has 2 floors each with about 300mts2.

Floor 1 - Will accommodate the Supermarket, and a coffee shop:

• Cafeteria/Takeaway

Healthy organic "quick" lunches and snacks to take advantage of the current customer base that already uses the supermarket. The idea is to invite clients to enjoy the comfort of freshly prepared snacks, increasing the average ticket per customer and providing access to healthy and organic food in the region.

Floor 0 (Basement) - Will accommodate the Mini Incubator and the self-made product factory:

• Mini Incubator for startups

Mini incubator for startups with 25m2, that can host up to 4 projects for the development of new sustainable businesses related to the agri-food industry. As a trainer and mentor of hundreds of projects, Barbara (one of the members of the team) will create an opportunity for the development of the best business ideas in a safe and structured space for them to flourish in a financially sustainable way. The incubator will also participate with investment for these startups.

• Factory of own products

A space for the production of food products with their own brand to be sold in the supermarket and via resellers (such as pasta, vegetable-based proteins, kombucha, and bread). Taking into account that the great majority of organic processed products are imported mainly from Germany and Italy, there is a need for Portugal to create autonomy and better prices in this market.

Gasshô's history of nearly a decade of operation in this area has allowed them to clearly identify certain food segments where high demand and shortage of supply create the opportunity to increase profit margins and sell to other supermarkets, expanding the scope of the business. Gasshô believes that scaling the bio market, is scaling benefit for all!

Gasshô hopes to continue its path of sustainability and promotion of a healthy lifestyle, cooperating with local and national suppliers, and above all developing this continuously growing sector.

Watch this video (in Portuguese) for more details about the project: